Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) partners with Microsoft to build an AI and Emerging Technologies Centre of Excellence

New Delhi: The Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership to build an AI and emerging technologies Centre of Excellence at AJNIFM. The collaboration seeks to explore the role of cloud, AI and emerging technologies for transforming and shaping the future of public finance management in India.

The Centre of Excellence will serve as a central body for research, AI scenario envisioning and tech led innovation. AJNIFM and Microsoft will jointly explore use cases of emerging technologies in finance and related areas, across central and state ministries and public sector enterprises. Microsoft will partner closely with AJNIFM to define the future of public finance management in India, providing the technology, tools and resources to build a strong ecosystem of partners, upskill government officials and build thought leadership.

Both organizations will also work closely on a capacity building program for senior government officials in associated ministries, departments and financial institutions. As part of this skilling effort, public sector officials will be trained on the application of emerging technologies in finance management to address potential risks like money laundering, use of machine learning models for decision making, role of responsible tech in finance, etc. Microsoft will also work closely with its partners, MSMEs and ISVs to build customized solutions that address the challenges of the sector.

As part of the strategic partnership, Microsoft and AJNIFM will focus on:

Building an innovation centre: Joint development of a Centre of Excellence at AJNIFM to drive AI envisioning in finance management across key associated ministries of AJNIFM.

Industry thought leadership: Microsoft and AJNIFM will jointly develop research papers and organize strategic knowledge sharing workshops with industry experts to discuss the role of cloud, data and AI for re-imagining public finance management in India.

Reskilling and capacity building: Developers at AJNIFM and senior government officials from associated ministries will be skilled in data engineering, data sciences, AI and machine learning etc.

Creating a strong ecosystem of partners: Engaging ecosystem partners, academia and MSMEs to drive innovation in financial management based on priority scenarios.

Speaking about the partnership, Shri Prabhat Ranjan Acharya, Director, AJNIFM, said, “The Steering Committee on fintech related issues under the chairmanship of Secretary, Economic Affairs, had recommended setting up centres of excellence on fintech in key premier national institutions like AJNIFM. The ambit of research studies will seek to address key challenges in public financial management, particularly expenditure management, revenue leakages, use of emerging technologies in preventing money laundering, studying existing DBT system and potential of application of emerging technologies including machine learning models in decision making etc. With continuous technological support from Microsoft, AJNIFM will be the only institution in the country equipped with high pedigree of financial analytical tools in the financial sector research domain.”

Commenting on this, Shri Navtez Bal, Executive Director, Public Sector, Microsoft India, said, “AJNIFM has a long history of driving research and innovation, preparing the next generation of leaders to transform India’s finance management system. This collaboration brings together AJNIFM’s rich experience in the public sector with Microsoft’s cloud and AI capabilities, paving the way for data and AI led governance and fintech transformation. We are excited to work together to accelerate research, enable skilling in emerging tech and invest in building a strong industry ecosystem for public finance management in the country. “

About AJNIFM:

The Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) is a Centre of Excellence specialising in capacity building of professionals in the fields of Public Policy, Financial Management and other governance issues for promoting highest standards of professional competence and practice. AJNIFM was set up in 1993 as a registered society under Ministry of Finance, Government of India. AJNIFM plays a pivotal role in governance and administrative reforms by providing a platform for interaction and exchange of ideas and experiences among officers from different organized services, different state governments and between personnel of civil and defense establishments. AJNIFM has become a premier resource center to meet the training needs of Central Government for senior and middle level management.

About Microsoft India

Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 13,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organization.